by Viviana Mazza, correspondent in New York
The interpreter and best friend of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball champion admitted to having a gambling addiction and said that the debts had been paid by Ohtani, then changed his story. A spokesperson for the champion speaks of “theft”. In California, betting is illegal
From our correspondent
NEW YORK The interpreter and best friend of Shohei Ohtani, the 29-year-old baseball champion who some have nicknamed “the Babe Ruth of modern times” because he plays both as a hitter and as a pitcher, was fired by the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday afternoon.
Ippei Mizuhara, 39, who has a very close relationship with Shohei (both are Japanese, she acted as his interpreter since 2018 when he moved to America, accompanied him everywhere with a bottle of water and did his shopping for him), said in an interview with ESPN that he had a gambling addiction and that Ohtani had paid off his debts of $4.5 million. Betting on sports is legal in 40 US states but illegal in California. “Clearly he wasn’t happy but he told me that he would help me to make sure I never did something like that again,” Mizuhara said Tuesday evening. I want everyone to know that Shohei was absolutely not involved in the betting. I want people to know that I didn’t know it was illegal. I learned my lesson the hard way. I will never bet on sport again.”
Initially on Tuesday, according to ESPN, a spokesperson for the champion confirmed this account of the interpreter, but then, shortly before the interview was published, he denied it and made public a statement according to which Ohtani had been “the victim of a gigantic theft”. Mizuhara himself changed his story on Wednesday, claiming that his friend knew absolutely nothing about his debts and had not personally paid the bookmaker. “Obviously it’s all my fault, I did everything, I’m ready to face all the consequences.”
Mizuhara insisted that none of his bets were on baseball, but on soccer, basketball and football. Betting on your sport for an athlete is seen as unforgivable. But it’s unclear what really happened, as the story has changed. The scandal erupted after the opening of a federal investigation in February into an illegal Southern California bookmaker, Matthew Boyer, who allegedly received money from Ohtani’s bank account through a contact.
The Major League Baseball athlete signed a ten-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers in December, making him the highest-paid in North American sports history. The federal authorities are aware of payments of 500 thousand dollars (the interpreter’s annual salary) from Ohtani, each accompanied by the motivation: “loan”. According to what Mizuhara declared on Tuesday, before denying everything, the friend did not trust him to give him the money and for this reason he would have paid directly. Boyer, on the other hand, would never have met the champion personally, according to his lawyer, even if – writes ESPN – he made people believe that he was one of his clients to attract others.
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March 22, 2024 (modified March 22, 2024 | 11:02)
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2024-03-22 10:38:44
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